Albums of the Year - #10: My Bloody Valentine - "m b v"

Rating: 8.2/10

Perhaps the most exhilirating album release this year was My Bloody Valentine's stellar comeback record, m b v. Unsigned to any major record label, the Dublin-based band and unchallanged kings of shoegaze felt it best to simply make the album available for digital download or physical purchase on their website. Evidently, they either underestimated how much traffic they would receive or overestimated the strength of their servers, as the site crashed within minutes. Considering it was the group's first release since 1991's legendary Loveless, and had been rumored to be in production since 1992, m b v was easily one of the most highly-anticipated indie releases of all time. So, naturally, when the group came out of the blue with a whole new record, thousands instantly tried to purchase it. Think of it like shoegaze's Detox, except it actually saw the light of day and isn't destined to be a disappointment. The site's crashing produced some pretty entertaining reactions online as excited fans were teased by the knowledge that there was new My Bloody Valentine music out there which they were unable to hear.